Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI) Short Interest Up 5.3% in March

Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE:HBI) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 51,630,000 shares, an increase of 5.3% from the March 15th total of 49,020,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 9,230,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days. Currently, 14.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Hanesbrands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HBI traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $4.68. 12,528,846 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,315,576. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.72, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $5.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.48. Hanesbrands has a 52-week low of $3.54 and a 52-week high of $5.86.

Hanesbrands (NYSE:HBI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The textile maker reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $1.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. Hanesbrands had a positive return on equity of 5.84% and a negative net margin of 0.31%. Hanesbrands’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Hanesbrands will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HBI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Hanesbrands from $4.50 to $5.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush lifted their price target on Hanesbrands from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat, Hanesbrands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $5.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hanesbrands

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hanesbrands by 16.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 46,483,518 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $244,503,000 after buying an additional 6,630,208 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hanesbrands by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,903,759 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $173,511,000 after buying an additional 597,523 shares during the period. Loews Corp increased its stake in shares of Hanesbrands by 54.2% during the fourth quarter. Loews Corp now owns 16,500,000 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,590,000 after buying an additional 5,800,000 shares during the period. Shapiro Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hanesbrands by 9.8% during the first quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 15,351,432 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $228,583,000 after buying an additional 1,371,689 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Hanesbrands by 14.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,365,722 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $60,680,000 after buying an additional 1,693,929 shares during the period. 80.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hanesbrands

Hanesbrands Inc, a consumer goods company, designs, manufactures, sources, and sells a range of range of innerwear apparels for men, women, and children in the Americas, Europe, the Asia pacific, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Innerwear, Activewear, and International.